From waived, to clearing waivers, to returning to the “Rams House” on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 18 — all in not even 24 hours.
The Los Angeles Rams made the decision to resign four of the five undrafted free agents the Super Bowl 56 champions originally placed on the waive/no recall list on Tuesday, May 17 — which was the subject of this Heavy on Rams story.
And in the process, the transactions will add some extra bodies in the wide receiver and cornerback department with minicamp set for Monday, May 23.
A Dive Into Who Got Resigned
Offensively, Roger Carter and Lance McCutcheon cleared waivers and are back with the Rams.
While Carter was utilized as a tight end from his Georgia State days, the 6-foot-2, 249-pounder brings some unique athleticism on the field.
Carter wasn’t just used for blocks on the line of scrimmage. He was also used as a dependable red zone target featuring “springy” athleticism as The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner described in this feature article alongside Rams insider for The Athletic Jourdan Rodrigue. Carter was Rodrigue’s pick to make the final roster among the deep pool of 2022 undrafted free agents. Both lauded his ability to become a potential “gadget” type player who was capable of playing a utility-type position on the Rams’ offense.
There’s the new idea floating around by Ram fans that Carter could become an extra Kendall Blanton or Brycen Hopkins type for the Ram offense.
McCutcheon starred at the Football Championship Subdivision level at Montana State. While he played at the non-Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, McCutcheon starred in the Big Sky Conference — considered one of the tougher realms in the FCS.
McCutcheon finished his Bobcats career with earning First Team Big Sky honors by producing five 100-yard games. He delivered two of those high-yardage performances against two powerhouses known for producing future NFL talent in Eastern Washington (the alma mater of Super Bowl 56 Most Valuable Player Cooper Kupp) on November 6, 2021 and North Dakota State (the college that produced 2021 third round pick Trey Lance). He also scored the lone touchdown for MSU versus NDSU in the 38-10 loss for the FCS championship:
Defensively, versatile cornerback safety T.J. Carter and cornerback Dan Isom head to the CB room.
T.J. Carter spent 2021 playing against the high-powered, pass friendly offenses in the Big 12 while at Texas Christian University (TCU). But he spent most of his collegiate career with Memphis — where he was the 2017 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year after picking off five passes and breaking up 11 throws. Carter was lauded for his coverage skills at cornerback and once entered the 2020 season having forced the most incompletions his side among Group of 5 cornerbacks according to Pro Football Focus.
Most Career Forced Incompletions among returning college players:
▪️ Thomas Graham Jr, Oregon – 37
▪️ Deommodore Lenoir, Oregon – 35
▫️ T.J. Carter, Memphis – 35
▫️ Tre Brown, Oklahoma – 31
▫️ Mike Hampton, USF – 31
Carter, though, moved to safety in Fort Worth but also played sparingly at his natural cornerback spot.
Who Wasn’t Resigned
The lone member of the five who didn’t resign after the waivers wire was Andrzej Hughes-Murray.
The linebacker was anticipated to add an extra pass rusher to a Rams defense that already lost Von Miller to the Buffalo Bills and Ogbonnia Okonronkwo to the Houston Texans during the 2022 free agency period in March.
The Oregon State Beaver standout started in all 13 games for the Pac-12’s Los Angeles Bowl representative and tallied 56 tackles, 8.5 for a loss and six sacks.
His final college game happened to be inside the “Rams House” at SoFi Stadium for the L.A. Bowl. Hughes-Murray delivered seven tackles in two sacks despite losing to Utah State 24-13 on December 18, 2021.
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Rams Re-Add to WR & CB Room With Latest Roster Moves